Electrical switch and receptacles using conductive fluids



G. H. TRIPP March 26, 1968 ELECTRICAL SWITCH AND RECEPTACLES USING CONDUCTIVE FLUIDS Filed Au 4, 19365 FIGS FIGS

INVENTOR. 62/ /f 540 0 United States Patent 3,375,336 ELECTRICAL SWITCH AND RECEPTACLES USING CONDUCTIVE FLUIDS Guy H. Tripp, 209 N. Columbian Road, Bay City, Mich. 48706 Filed Aug. 4, 1965, Ser. No. 489,775 4 Claims. (Cl. 200-152) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE Switches and receptacles are disclosed for the make and break of electric circuits. The receptacle embodies a threaded male electrical socket for threaded connection with ordinary household type outlets to convert such outlets to a prong receiving receptacle. The male or prong elements (e.g., an electric plug), instead of making direct physical contact with the current carrying or hot receptacle elements, are connected thereto by an intermediary pocket of mercury. The switch comprises a sphere rotatably enclosed within an exterior spherical shell. Discrete pockets of mercury are distributed over the surface of the inner sphere and interconnected, in pairs, through the center of the sphere. The sphere may be rotated about any axis and selected connections may be made via the interconnected mercury pockets, when brought into physical contact with selected pairs of circuit leads imbedded in the outer spherical shell.

Background of the invention This invention relates to electric switches and receptacles and more particularly to electrical switches and receptacles in which electric circuits are completed by connections of separate portions thereof through a fluid conducting medium. More specifically, the present invention represents an advance in the art of mercury contact de-. vices such as those illustrated in US. Letters Patent 2,136,874, to Bartsch. The present invention extends this concept to domestic or ordinary household circuitry, eliminating sticky and corroding points in the contact devices thereof. The use of mercury for the cont-acting intermediary also eliminates the need for springs in switches, and prolongs their life. It also provides trouble free operation, with positive electrical contact, in contrast to the well known solid frictional contact devices. The device of the present invention also reduces the likelihood of children poking objects into the wall receptacle holes. A principal advantage of the mercury contact is its flexibility of receptivity, i.e., it is no longer necessary to bend or otherwise re-form the prongs of a plug which do not exactly register with the outlet contact points.

Thus it is an object of the present invention to introduce positive contact electrical switches and receptacles.

It is another object of the present invention to introduce electrical switches and receptacles which have a longer, more trouble free useful life.

Another object is to provide a switch that will operate under strain or in fast motion.

Another object of the invention is to reduce the likelihood of electric shock, from wall receptacles, to children.

Another object is to introduce an electrical connector that eliminates the well known improper fit problem which is encountered in household plug-and-receptacle connectors. 3

Another object is to provide a spherical, random selection multiple circuit connector, with the attendant advantages of mercury contact points.

Still other objects of the present invention will become more apparent to those skilled in the art as the description proceeds.

In the drawings:

FIGURE 1 is a cross sectional view of a ball selector type fluid switch of the present invention.

FIGURE 2 is a cross section view of the switch taken at 22 of FIGURE 1.

FIGURE 3 is a top plan view of the ball switch shown in FIGURE 1, showing in phantom line alternate positions of the switch handle.

FIGURE 4 is a front elevation view in partial section of the threaded mercury wall receptacle .of the present invention.

FIGURE 5 is a cross sectional view of the receptacle of the present invention taken on lines 5-5 of FIG- URE 4.

Description of preferred embodiments FIGURES 1, 2 and 3 show a ball type switch. The body 1 forms a spherical shell and contains the moving member 2. The moving member is also spherical and contains pockets 3 for conductive fluid. Metal contacts or electrodes 4 are pressed into or screwed into the body 1 after the pockets 3 are filled with conductive fluid, for example mercury. The moving member 2 extends into a handle a with which it is possible to move member 2 to make contact through the various pockets 3 with the shell circuits 4. The phantom lines of FIGURE 3 show the handle a" moved to four alternate quadrant positions. However the handle a can also be revolved to turn the moving member 2. The pocket 3 at the bottom of the ball 2 moves into position and coincides with contact 4 in the bottom of body 1; or it can be arranged to make one or more contacts simultaneously. A multiplicity of contacts, in any order or sequence, can be arranged and thus gives choice of contacts at the will of the operator. The spherical configuration of the ball 2 gives the advantage of being able to connect between any pair of exterior connections 3 or 4 (or others, not shown) with necessarily making temporary contact with intermediate connections. Such is not the case in prior art devices which provide only linear or circular switch motion in contrast to the random spherical motion provided by the ball switch of the present invention.

FIGURE 4 is a plug and receptacle 81 which are capable of being used in a vertical position, and will not separate when being pulled along or suspended carrying the weight of a long cord. This positive connection is due to the two spring hooks 83 which are attached to the receptacle 81 to hook over the annular flange 82 which is part of the plug 80. The receptacle 81 is made of nonconductive yielding material to prevent a short circuit. The metal prongs 84 of conductive material are securely fastened in the plug 80. Air pockets 85 are conveniently located in the receptacle 81 for the purpose of catching any conductive fluid that might escape while removing the metal prongs 84. Reference numeral 86 indicates pockets of conductive fluid located in the receptacle 81 and attached to an electric circuit (not shown). A neutral wire marked N grounds the plug and receptacle as a safety measure.

Both the switch and receptacle may be provided with neutral wires.

Having described an operative embodiment of my invention, improvements, modifications and substitutions will become apparent to those skilled in the art, but these same are intended to be included within the spirit of the present invention, which is limited only by the hereinafter appended claims.

I claim: 7

1. An electrical socket for receiving a plug of the type having prongs, comprising:

formed in said body being normally .closed but yieldable to receive said prong;

a pocket in said body at the inner portion of each slit;

conductive fluid contained in each of said pockets;

an electrical connection to each of said pockets; and

a chamber in said body spaced from said pocket and about the longitudinal axis of each slit to catch and trap any of the saidconductive fluid escaping from said pocket.

2. A ball switch construction comprising:

an insulating body having a ball-shaped cavity;

a movable ball-shaped insulating member closely fitted into said insulatingbody cavity, for spherical rotation therein;

contact means on the surfaces of both said movable member and said ball cavity;

. 4 v an electric circuit leading from each "of said contact means; i handle means for rotation of said movable member about any selected axis-so that each of said movable member contact means may be contacted with any selected one of said ball cavity contact means.

3. The switch construction of claim 2 in which at least one of said surface contact means is a pocket of conducting fluid sealably contained in said pocket by the adjacent spherical surface.

4. The construction of claim 3 in which said conducting fluid is mercury.

No references cited.

ROBERT K. SCHAEFER, Primary Examiner.

H. HOHAUSER, Assistant Examiner. 

